Joseph p



(No Model.)

J. P. WHITE.

BOTTLE STOPPER.

N0. 565,194. Patented Aug. 4, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT @EETQE.

JOSEPH P. YVHITE, OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALFREDS. NICHOLS,-OF SAME PLACE.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,194, dated August4, 1896. Application filed January 3, 1896 Serial No. 674,271. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH P. "WHITE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Savannah, in the county of Ohatham and State of Georgia,have invented new and useful 11nprovements in BottleStoppers, of whichthe following is specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a new and improvedbottle-stopper which is simple in construction, economical ofmanufacture, easily operated, and designed to indicate or show if thebottle has been refilled after the original contents have been removed,thus rendering it impossible to refill the bottle with an inferiorliquid or substance and successfully represent it as the substancecontained in the original package, since the construction is such thatthe parts of the stopper cannot be practicably restored to theiroriginal. condition after the bottle is once opened.

To accomplish this object, the present invention consists, essentially,in the combination of a bottle having a funnel-shaped mouth and aninternal arm or shoulder, a cork or stopper fitting the funnel-shapedmouth, a wire secured to the arm or shoulder and adapted to be passedcentrally through the cork or stopper, and means for securing the wireto the upper end of the cork or stopper in such manner that when theconnection between the wire and the arm or shoulder is ruptured byrotating the wire the cork or stopper can be removed and the partscannot again be practicably connected in operative position, so that aninspection of the bottle shows whether or not it has been opened sinceit was first filled and corked.

The invention also consists in the combination of a bottle having afunnel-shaped mouth, a conical cork or stopper fitting the funnel-shapedmouth, an arm or shoulder arranged within the bottle and having anattached wire adapted to be passed centrally through the cork orstopper, and a metallic disk or plate resting upon the upper end of thecork or stopper and through which the wire extends, said wire beingengaged with said disk or plate in such manner that when the wire isrotated and broken from the arm or shoulder the cork or stopper can beremoved and the several parts cannot again be practicably connected witha cork inserted into the bottle-mouth, so that an inspection of thebottle shows whether or not it has been opened since it was first filledand corked.

The invention also consists in certain other features of constructionand combination or arrangement of parts, hereinafter described andclaimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a vertical central sectional view of my improved bottle,showing the wire in position to be inserted centrally through the corkor stopper. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the wire extended throughthe center of the cork or stopper. Fig. 3 is similar view showing thecork or stopper in the f unnel-shaped mouth of the bottle and the wireof the indicator-seal engaged with the metallic disk or plate on theupper end of the stopper as the parts will appear when the bottle iscompletely corked. Fig. lis asimilar View showing the opposite sideportions of the metallic disk turned upwardly to provide lingerpieces.Fig. 5 is a similar View showing the cork extracted or withdrawn and thewire separated from the arm or shoulder, and Figs. 6 and 7 are similarviews showinga modification of my invention.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use myinvention, 1 will now describe the same in detail, referring to thedrawings, wherein- The numeral 1 indicates a glass bottle having afunnel-shaped mouth 2, adapted to receive a conical cork or stopper 3.The top portion or wall of the bottle surrounding the contracted end ofthe bottle m outh is formed integral with a lateral andinwardly-projecting fixed arm or shoulder 4:, which approximately fillsone-half of the usual opening where the base of the bottle-mouthcommunicates with the interior of the bottle-body.

The arm or shoulder a is provided with a wire 5, which is preferablysecured in the glass composing the arm or shoulder when the bottle ismanufactured. The wire 5 is of such length that it can be passedcentrally extending upward from the cork or stopper. A metallic disk orplate 6 is then strung upon the wire 5 and moved downwardly until itrests upon the upper end of the cork or stopper 3, and then the Wire 5is engaged in a positive manner with this metallic disk or plate 6 andthe projecting part of the wire is cut off, leaving all the parts in theposition shown in Fig. 3, wherein the bottle is represented ascompletely corked ready for the market. The engagement of the wire 5with the metallic disk or plate 6 is preferably effected through themedium of a drop of solder placed upon the center of the disk or plate 6in contact with the wire before or after the latter is cut off to therequired length. By this means a very simple solder joint connectionbetween the wire and the disk or plate is obtained, and thissolder-joint can be very economically produced.

WVhen the bottle is to be uncorked or unstoppered, it is only necessaryto introduce a knife or some other instrument under the metallic disk orplate 6 at one side thereof and raise this side and then introduce theknife or other instrument under the opposite side of the disk or plateand raise such side. This places the disk in the form shown in Fig. 4,so that it can be grasped by the fingers and rotated, thereby breakingor severing the connection between the inner end of the wire and the armor shoulder 4, when the cork can be easily removed, as in Fig. 5,through the medium of the finger-pieces pro vided by turning up themetallic disk or plate in the manner above described. This is veryadvantageous in that it renders it unnecessary to use a corkscrew forremoving the cork or stopper, and the metal disk or plate, in fact,constitutes a means whereby the cork or stopper can be easily withdrawnfrom the funnel-shaped mouth of the bottle after the point of connectionbetween the inner end of the wire and the arm or shoulder has beenfractured, as above stated.

To facilitate the separation of the wire and the indicator-seal in themanner above eX- plained, I flatten or weaken the wire at the pointwhere it is engaged with the fixed arm or shoulder in the bottle, sothat when the wire is twisted or turned it breaks at the point where itjoins the arm or shoulder.

If the bottle is corked by passing the wire 5 through the center of thecork or stopper 3 and soldering it to the center of the metallic disk orplate 6 and the bottle is subsequently uncorked or opened, theconnection between the wire and arm or shoulder is fractured, and it isimpossible to subsequently apply a cork and secure it as originally.Therefore an inspection of the bottle will show whether or not thebottle has been opened since it was originally filled and corked.

The funnel-shaped bottle-mouth may be placed on the top portion of thebottle in any desired position, and the cork or stopper can be held bythe wire, irrespective of the exact position in which the funnel-shapedbottlemouth may be arranged. The inner or lower end of the cork orstopper is designed to rest upon the smooth top surface of the arm orshoulder when the bottle is corked, as shown in Fig. 3, whereby thecontents of the bottle are prevented from coming in contact with thewire which extends through the cork or stopper and is attached to thearm or shoulder.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the arm orshoulder is a fixed object, and is formed integral with the bottle. Asshown in themodification, Figs. 6 and 7, I propose to make the arm orshoulder separate from the bottle, so that it becomes a movable arm orobject, as at '7. This arm or object is of such dimensions that itcannot be withdrawn through the contracted part of the bottle-mouth, andthe wire Sis attached to the arm or object in such manner that byrotatin g or twisting the wire it is separated from the arm or object insubstantially the same manner as described with reference to Figs. 1 to5, inclusive. The wire in the modified construction is designed to passthrough the cork 9 and to be secured to the metallic disk or plate 10,as hereinbefore explained, so that by turning up opposite side portionsof the disk or plate finger-pieces are provided which can be grasped bythe fingers for twisting or turning the wire, and thereby fracturing thepoint of connection between such wire and the arm or object 7. This armor object may be made of glass, or any other material suitable for thepurpose, and when the point of connection between the wire and the armor object is broken or fractured the arm or object will fall into thebottle and remain there. Obviously it is impracticable to subsequentlyconnect the parts in the operative position shown in Fig. 7, andtherefore an inspection of the bottle and of the arm or object 7 willshow whether or not the bottle has been opened since it was originallyfilled and corked.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, is the mostadvantageous, and is regarded by me as more useful than the constructionshown in the modification, because the bottle can be more economicallymanufactured and the parts more easily and quickly applied to cork thebottle than with the parts made according to the modification.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combinationof a bottle having a funnel-shaped mouth, and an internal arm orshoulder, a cork or stopper fitting the funnelshaped mouth, a wiresecured to the arm or shoulder and passing centrally through the cork orstopper, and means for securing the wire to the upper end of the cork orstopper, so that by twisting or rotating the wire the connection betweenit and the arm or shoulder is broken, substantially as described,

2. The combination of a bottle having a funnel-shaped mouth and formedintegral with an internal arm or shoulder, a wire secured in the arm orshoulder, a cork or stopper fitting the funnel-shaped mouth and throughthe center of which said wire passes, and a metallic disk or plateresting upon the upper end of the cork or stopper,engaged with the saidwire and adapted to be bent outward or upward to form a finger-piece forthe purpose of rotating the wire and severing its connection with thearm or shoulder, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a bottle having a mouth, a cork or stopper adaptedto fit the mouth, an arm or shoulder arranged within the bottle, a wiresecured to the arm or shoulder and passing through the cork or stopper,and a flexible, metallic disk or plate arranged on the upper end of thecork and stopper, secured to the wire and adapted to be bent upward oroutward to form a finger-piece for the purpose of twisting or turningthe wire and severing its connection with the arm or shoulder,substantially as described.

4, The combination of a bottle having a mouth and formed integral withan internal fixed arm or shoulder in juxtaposition to the base of themouth, a cork or stopper adapted to fit said mouth, a wire attached tothe fixed arm or shoulder and passing through the cork or stopper, andmeans for securing the upper end of the wire to the cork or stopper,substantially as described.

5. The combination of a bottle having a mouth and formed integral with alateral, inwardly-projecting fixed arm or shoulder, a cork or stopperadapted to fit said mouth, a wire attached to the fixed arm or shoulderand passing through the cork or stopper, and a flexible disk or platemounted on the cork,

secured to the wire and adapted to be bent upward or outward to form afinger-piece for the purpose of twisting or turning the wire to severits connection with said fixed arm or shoulder, substantially asdescribed.

6. The combination of a bottle having a funnel-shaped mouth and formedintegral with an internal fixed arm or shoulder in juxtaposition to thebase of the funnel-shaped mouth, a cork or stopper adapted to fit themouth, a wire attached to the fixed arm or shoulder and passing throughthe cork or stopper, and a flexible disk or plate mounted on the cork,secured to the wire, and adapted to be bent upward and outward to form afinger-piece for twisting or turning the wire and severing itsconnection with the arm or shoulder, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a bottle having a mouth, a cork or stopper adaptedto fit said mouth, an arm or shoulder arranged in the bottle, a wireattached to the arm or shoulder and passing through the cork or stopper,a flexible, metallic disk or plate mounted on the cork or stopper andthrough which the said wire extends, and a solder-joint connecting theupper end of said wire to said disk or plate, said metallic disk orplate adapted to be bent upward or outward to form a fingerpiece forsevering the connection of the Wire with said arm or shoulder,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH P. WHITE. Witnesses THos. L. HARRIS, E. W. CUBBEDGE.

